Cabal's polemic tweet has stirred up general outrage and offended Aracataca, birthplace of García Márquez, for going against the Colombian Nobel laureate's memory. Many Twitter users have criticized her standing and asked for respect:

There is nothing more unpleasant than to attack a genius after his death, it's like me bad-mouthing Hawking for being an atheist. #GraciasGabo [Thanks Gabo]

Following an angry reply issued towards María Fernanda Cabal, Armando Benedetti, senator for the Partido de Unidad Nacional [en] (Social Party of National Unity) began an online campaign where people are supposed to vote for or against it:

He was a sincere and loyal friend to the revolutionary leaders that have caused blood and misery.

María Fernanda Cabal removed the tweet after seeing the reactions against it. The Centro Democrático published a statement on its behalf expressing condolences to the Nobel laureate's family. The congresswoman also tweeted a letter apologizing with Gabo's family while at the same time is emphatic on her ideology and criticism:

By wanting to avoid the fact that the country's official, common, and political violence obligated Gabriel García Márquez to live in exile and by hoping to smooth over the outrage caused by such disrespect, elected congresswoman Fernanda Cabal, publishes this hours later on her Twitter account: “I would never question Gabo's literary greatness. That is indisputable. His affinity towards Castro's regime and his indifference towards Colombia, however, is disputable.” She may have meant to say that Gabo's view of the world and his writings were separate from each other. Therefore, it is only left to say that no matter how fantastical his stories were, Gabo's characters were never too far from reality and in the author's words, “There is no reason to believe demons [tell the truth], not even when they tell the truth.” We can't forget who they are and who they have connections with.

It would be better to hold the Nobel laureate's funeral far away from this country; away from politicians and mafias that reject people like him, that were capable of killing Jaime Garzón, and that now want to trample the memory and work of the true Great Colombian.

Featured image of Gabriel García Márquez used in this post is from Wikimedia Commons, from the Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara 2009. CC BY 2.0